FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Sells 484 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH trimmed its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,900 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 484 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises about 0.8% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $517.22 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $490.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $482.53. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $422.19 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.

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